


It Wasn't Supposed To Be Like This

by Aislingkate



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Ashes Scene in Avengers: Infinity War Part 1, Battle of Wakanda (Avengers: Infinity War), Bucky Barnes & Wanda Maximoff Friendship, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Character Death, F/M, Future relationships tagged, Implied Relationships, Implied Slash, Legal Peter Parker, M/M, No Underage Sex, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Slow Burn, Team as Family, Time Travel, ig because Tony's d word
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:42:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,526
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23458789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aislingkate/pseuds/Aislingkate
Summary: Thanos snaps his fingers and half the universe is gone. The wrong half.Bucky Barnes stands in the middle of a battlefield and watches as the love of his life turns to dust in front of him. Peter Parker cradles Tony Stark's body in his hands as the man he looks up to and cares for disintegrates right before his eyes. Hope Van Dyne watches as the man she loves crumbles before her.They don't move on.Stephen Strange knew it wasn't supposed to happen this way. The future he saw was different, he wasn't supposed to survive the Snap. The world's mightiest heroes are all gone and Earth has no one to avenge her.He channels his magic into making his hands work again, some move on.Loki watches as half the people he and Valkyrie managed to smuggle off of the ship Thanos had attacked turn to dust. He knows then that they had lost. He has nothing left.--In the end it takes love and courage to bring them back. It's an idea formed from the most desperate people. Desperation makes people do desperate things and Peter Parker is full of desperation.  He'll do anything to bring him back.Whatever it takes.
Relationships: Christine Palmer/Stephen Strange, James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov/Sam Wilson, Peter Parker/Tony Stark, Scott Lang/Hope Van Dyne
Comments: 27
Kudos: 160





	1. The Snappening

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I've been in lockdown for like 3 weeks now and I started this idea in my notes app on my phone and I have so many things written out in there. This chapter is certainly not going to be the best one out of everything, It's acting fairly crappy but I couldn't really write it any other way.

**2018**

The axe lodged itself into Thanos’ chest as Thor looked on. Thor took a step towards him and sneered. “I told you, you’d die for that,” he hissed. One hand gripped the back of Thanos’ head while the other pushed Stormbreaker further into the mad Titan’s chest, closer to his heart. Thanos cried out in pain and bowed his head. 

“You, you should have,” he wheezed, eyes locked on Thor’s. Then in a malicious tone he spat, “You should have gone for the head.”

Thanos smirked at him and before Thor could truly register what he meant, Thanos snapped his fingers, the gauntlet glowed for a split second of blinding light. All Thor could do was cry out. 

“What did you do!?” He shouted, hands moving away from Thanos, eyes wide. Without a word Thanos raised the gauntlet and with the power of the Space stone he opened a portal and disappeared through it. Stormbreaker fell to the ground, lying useless at Thor's feet.

Steve’s breathing was heavy as he approached, “Where’d he go?” He looked around the scene, Thor remained silent in shock. “Thor?” His voice was desperate. “Where’d he go?”

Bucky moved towards them, rifle in hand and took in Steve and Thor’s desperate faces. Steve doubled over slightly in pain, one moment he was clutching his chest and Bucky was by his side. The next moment he was gone and ash was all that was left in Bucky’s hands. _ What the hell?  _

“Steve,” he whispered, voice wrecked. 

He looked up to see Thor standing above him. “I’m sorry,” Thor whispered before he too turned to dust in front of Bucky’s eyes. Bucky ran his hand through Steve’s ashes, with wide eyes as he looked around him. 

All around the battlefield people were turning to dust before his very eyes. He wondered if he was next as he examined his own hands. In the middle of the field M’Baku stood frozen in shock before suddenly he was gone too. Bucky could do nothing but watch as his allies disappeared.

T’Challa ran towards Okoye on the other side of the field, he reached out a hand to her. “Up general,” he said urgently. “Up, this is no place to die.”

In an instant, he regretted his words as he gripped her wrist and she began to disintegrate before him. He stared at where she had been lying on the ground just seconds before. Across the field his eyes locked on Bucky and they stared hopelessly at each other.

Bucky stood, he couldn’t lie there in the middle of Steve and Thor’s ashes, and moved further out onto the field. 

“No, no, no, no!” Rocket shouted as he fell to the ground. “Groot!” 

Groot reached for him but Rocket was gone and his hands only met air. “I am Groot,” he shouted and to Bucky it sounded melancholic and broken. If he could understand what the tree creature had said he was sure he’d agree with the sentiment.

“What the hell”? Bruce shouted. Bucky turned his head towards where Bruce was encased in the Hulk-buster armour. Bruce stared at Bucky and suddenly the armour stood as an empty shell. Bruce was gone.

Wanda laid on the ground, her hands were resting on Vision's form as she looked around her. She almost wished that she would disappear too, but it didn't come. Instead she looked up to see Natasha approaching her. 

“Wanda-,” Nat began to say but she didn’t manage to finish as she too faded to dust. Wanda let out a sob as she watched her disappear. 

“SAM!” Rhodey called, bending down to look for him. Sam turned from where he had been thrown to the ground and his eyes locked with Rhodey’s. In a split second Rhodey was gone, just like the others. Sam stood, hands shaking as he made his way towards where Bucky and T'Challa were standing. The three of them looked on in horror as it continued. 

They all gathered themselves around Wanda and Vision’s body. Bucky collapsed beside her and squeezed her hand where it rested over Vision’s chest. 

“What the hell is happening,” Sam asked desperately. 

Bucky looked at those that were left, and shook his head. “Oh God,” he whispered. 

They all seemed to know what he meant.

* * *

On a planet named Titan, millions of miles away, Tony Stark was pulled up from where he’d fallen to the ground, by Peter Parker. Strange, Quill, Drax, Nebula and Mantis surrounded them. 

“Something’s happening,” Mantis said, a quiver in her voice as she looked around the desolate planet. They all looked around for some sign of an enemy. As Peter turned he saw Nebula, eyes wide, as she began to disintegrate. He turned back towards the others and they all exchanged shocked glances. Quill reached out to where Nebula had stood and in his hand he caught dust. 

“Hey, kid,” Tony said, alarmed as he fell to the floor. 

“Mr Stark!” Peter cried out. “No, no, no! Not you Mr. Stark.”

Peter cradled Tony’s form in his hands. “Please, no.” He began to shake as Tony’s legs turned to dust. 

“It’s okay kid, you’re okay,” Tony whispered, his hands gripping Peter’s shoulders. 

“Don’t go,” Peter begs. “Please Tony don’t go.”

“I’m sorry Pete,” Tony said as he turned to dust. Peter stared at where Mr. Stark had been. Now all he was cradling was dust. 

Strange’s eyes were wide as he watched. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he whispered 

“What?” Peter turned towards him. 

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” Strange said, he took in his surroundings and looked at the others. “The future I saw, it was supposed to be us.”

Peter turned towards him, eyes wide and hopeless. He looked down at his hands, covered in Tony’s dust and desperately hoped he too would disappear. 

No one else turned to dust. 

* * *

In New York City, Nick Fury and Maria hill were driving through the streets. 

“Still no word from Stark?” he asked. 

She shook her head, “No, not yet.” She sighed. “We’re watching every satellite on both hemispheres, but still nothing.”

Just then her Starkpad started beeping loudly. 

“What is it?” Fury asked, taking his eyes off the road to glance at her. 

“Multiple bogeys over Wakanda,” she said, turning to look at him.

“Same energy signature as New York?” He asked, troubled. 

“Ten times bigger,” she murmured. 

Fury turned towards her and shook his head. “Tell Klein we’ll meet him at-.”

“Nick! Nick!,” Hill shouted as a car veered in front of them. 

The tires screeched as Fury’s car crashed straight into it. They pulled themselves from the vehicle and Hill approached the car that had crashed into them. There was no one in the driver's seat.

“They okay?” Fury asked from where he was standing behind her. 

“There’s no one here,” she replied, voice shaking. She turned to look at him in confusion.

They heard the sounds of helicopter blades whirring and they turned towards the sound just in time to watch as it crashed into one of the high rise buildings. People all around them were screaming and running away from the crash. 

“Call control,” he commanded as he stared up at the building. Hill pulled out her phone. “Code red.”

“Nick,” Hill said and she points to where people all around them are turning to dust. 

“What the hell,” he grips the pager in his pocket. “Mother fucker,” he spat. 

* * *

In San Francisco Scott Lang stood in front of the Quantum tunnel that doubled as his van.

“Alright,” Hope said to him. “Going subatomic in Five.. Four.. Three.. Two.. O-.”

Before she could reach one and Hank could pull the lever Scott began to turn to dust right in front of them. “Okay, what the hell,” Hank said, mouth agape. “Is this another one of his magic tricks.”

The city descended into chaos and from where they stood on the rooftop they could see cars colliding with each other and people all around them turning to dust. 

“I don’t think this is one of Scott’s magic tricks,” Janet replied. 

* * *

Clint grinned at Lyla as she hit a bullseye for the second time that afternoon. “Good job, Hawkeye.” 

She grinned back at him. “Thanks Dad.”

He reached out for a high five and as she went to return it her hand hit the air, dust collected against her skin. “Mom!” She screamed.

Her father was gone.

* * *

“We’re about to enter Earth’s atmosphere,” Valkyrie said as she reached where Loki was standing looking out into deep space. 

“We should try to make contact before,” Loki replied. “We don’t want to be shot out of the sky.”

“Already on it,” she said simply. “I have one of the engineers trying to make contact.”

“It’s probably for the best that you speak with them, I’m not sure how welcoming they’re going to be when they find out I’m on board,” Loki continued to stare out into space. 

“He survived,” Valkyrie whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder. “You said it yourself, your illusion saw him.”

Loki shook his head. “He thinks I’m dead.. Again.”

“Yes,” Valkyrie agreed. “But Thanos wasn’t going to let you walk out of there alive, you had to make it believable.”

“We should have gone back for him,” Loki said angrily. 

“And risk what little we have left?” Valkyrie shook her head. “Thor wouldn’t want that, he’ll forgive you when he sees you, he always does.”

“Prince Loki!” Someone from behind him called and he turned his head just in time to see the man who had called his name turn to dust. 

“What on Asgard?” Valkyrie murmured as they watched more of their people turning to dust. She looked down at her hands in shock as she felt them crumble. “Loki!”

He snapped his head towards her at her shout and reached out to grab her. Before his hand could make contact she had faded. 

“My Lord?” One of the men beside him asked. “What is happening?”

“He won,” Loki replied as he strode to the helm of the ship. A trouble expression crossed his face when he noticed the engineer in charge of contacting Earth was gone. He sat into the pilot's chair and let out a deep breath. His already depleted people needed to land safely and soon. 

* * *

Shuri ran out onto the field and when she reached them she was gasping for air. “We need to get him to my lab, now!” she exclaimed, gesturing at Vision. 

“Sister, we don’t-” T’Challa was cut off by her glare. 

“I can save him,” she said desperately. “But he needs to go to my lab now.”

Wanda stared at Vision’s body. “Are you certain?” She asked. 

“Surely someone can be saved in all of this,” Shuri replied, Bucky could see the desperation in her eyes so he nodded his head. 

“Can you move him Wanda?” He asked quietly. She nodded her head and waved her hand silently. Vision’s body levitated off the ground and they moved him to Shuri’s lab where she set him down gently on the table. 

“Everyone out,” Shuri commanded. “Except you Wanda, I need your help.”

Bucky collapsed on the floor outside of Shuri’s lab and Sam joined him. They leaned back against the wall and stared at the opposite one where T’Challa was sitting with his head in his hands. Groot stood to the side, a forlorn look on his face as he watched them. 

“What do we do now?” Sam asked him, Bucky wondered when he had become the one in charge. 

“What can we do?” Bucky replied. “They’re all gone.”

It feels like hours but Bucky guessed that it had only been about 30 minutes when Shuri came out of her lab. She looked exhausted and Bucky knew it wasn’t just from attempting to fix Vision. “He’s functioning,” she said. “I don’t really know how to describe it but Wanda’s powers are very similar to the stone, she and I were able to repair the damage done to him.”

“Thank you,” Bucky said as he stood up. He rested his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. 

“We should figure out how bad this thing is,” Sam murmured quietly. “We need to know.” 

“It’s bad,” Vision said as he slipped out of the lab. “Very bad.

* * *

“We need, we need to get out of here,” Peter said. “We can’t stay here, Dr. Strange we  _ need _ to go home.”

Quill nodded his head in agreement. “We’re too out in the open here but our ship is a wreck and I have a feeling your method of transportation isn’t going to cut it.” He gestured his hands towards the flying doughnut ship. 

“I can get us to Earth,” Strange said. “I’m sure your ship will fit through the portal.”

“Portal?” Quill asked. A moment later Strange was opening a portal to the compound. Peter stepped through followed by the Guardians who were looking at Stephen with a mix of awe and annoyance. “If you could do that earlie why didn’t you?”

“There was no need,” Stephen replied. “And, I’ve never actually tried to open a portal between planets.”

“Cool,” Peter said absentmindedly. “We should go inside and see if any of the Avengers are here, Cap will know what to do.”

Stephen said nothing, although he suspected they weren’t going to find Captain America here. Peter led them through the empty building, going from room to room and floor to floor in search of someone. He finally stopped in the communications room and put on one of the headsets. 

He connected to the usual line they used for the coms. “Hello?” He said into the mic. “Is anyone there?”

He got back a reply of mostly static and then, “Hello? Who’s this?” 

Peter recognised the voice of Sam Wilson from the airport fight. “Ugh Peter Parker, I mean Spiderman, Mr. Wilson is that you? Where are you?”

“Spiderman?” Wilson asked incredulously. “I’m in Wakanda, are you at the compound?”

“Yeah,” Peter replied. “We met at the airport in Berlin, I-, I don’t know if you remember.”

“I remember,” Sam replied. “Who’s with you? Are you with Stark?”

“I- no,” Peter’s voice trembled. “He didn’t, I mean he- I couldn’t-”

“Yeah,” Sam said. “I know what you mean, is there anyone with you?”

“Hey, kid,” Quill said. “Ask them if they’ve seen Groot and Rocket.”

“I’ve got a guy here who wants to know if you’ve seen a Groot and Rocket, I don’t entirely know what that means.”

“Shit, okay,” Sam swore. “We need to regroup, hand tight and we’ll be there soon, we’re leaving now.”

“Umm okay,” Peter replied. He heard the line click and he removed the headset. “I spoke to Sam Wilson, Falcon, and he said they’re on their way here.”

“What did he say about Groot and Rocket?” Quill asked.

“Umm.. he didn’t really say anything he just said to hang tight but it sounded like he knew what you were talking about,” Peter offered. “We can’t really do anything but wait.”

Just then the communications line beeped and Peter turned back around to face the console. The screen was flashing saying they were receiving an incoming call. Peter put the headset back on and turned the switch on to accept it. 

“Hello, this is Loki of Asgard, I’m asking for asylum on your planet. I have a ship full of Agardian refugees, our planet was destroyed.” The voice was scratchy and the line was bad but Peter was just about able to make out the words. 

“Loki!” He said in shock and Stephen flinched. “As in Thor’s brother?”

“Yes!” Loki replied almost ecstatically. “Who’s this?”

Peter relayed what Loki had said to them and Stephen picked up the other headset before Peter could reply. “This is Dr. Stephen Strange, why should we allow you to land your craft on Earth?”

“My people have already been attacked twice now, we are a depleted population and mean you no harm, please,” Loki was begging. Peter could hear it in his voice. He was desperate. 

“You may land,” Stephen replied and he rattled off the coordinates of the compound. “Don’t try anything.”

The warning in his voice was enough to make Peter shiver. “I assure you, my people’s safety is my priority, we will be with you shortly.” 

Peter sat back and looked at Stephen. “Who are we hoping is going to land here here first?”

“Let’s hope for Wilson and his team so we can brief him,” Strange said. “But be prepared for Loki. 

“Do you think Thor is with him?”

“I severely doubt it,” Stephen replied grimly.

* * *


	2. The Aftershock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was trying to name this chapter and I looked at the name of the last chapter. I cannot tell you how hard I laughed when I realised I had called it the snappening. Anyway I'm not creative enough to keep with that theme.

Loki breathed in deeply as the door to the ship lowered. He couldn’t believe he was back on Earth without Thor, he was almost certain things with The Avengers were not going to go well without his brother. The remaining Asgardians were bustling behind him. They were all anxious to get off of the ship. Loki knew after Thanos’ attack they felt exposed in the air. 

As he stepped off of the ship he was met with five figures standing in front of him. He noticed each of them were in an offensive stance, ready to attack should he give them a reason. 

“I mean you no harm,” Loki said, arms held high above his head. “My people are just looking for asylum.” 

Out of the five people standing before him he only recognised one. He realised that this was troubling, if the Avengers weren’t here where were they? Surely they couldn’t have all been wiped out by Thanos. The sorcerer he has briefly encountered with Thor the last time he was on Earth seemed to be the leader of the group. 

“I understand your people have been through a lot,” The sorcerer said and Loki nodded his head. “We will allow you to disembark, is your brother with you?”

“No,” Loki replied. “We were separated when Thanos attacked and I haven’t seen him since.”

The sorcerer did not seem surprised and merely nodded grimly as if Loki had just confirmed his worries. He did not offer Loki any explanation. 

“Come inside,” The sorcerer said. “We need to talk.”

* * *

  
  


Sam leaned his head back against the wall of the quinjet and sighed. He felt oddly calm, but he was almost certain that was because he hadn’t allowed himself to process what had happened yet. They had left Wakanda after the Spiderkid had contacted him from the compound. The kid had sounded extremely distressed and the knowledge that Stark was gone only worried Sam further. None of the original Avengers were here which meant at some point there was going to have to be a discussion about who was in charge. Sam wasn’t sure if there was much left to be in charge of. 

Still, he wasn’t looking forward to the inevitable battle for dominance that would happen. He didn’t think anyone was willing to take over the mantle of team leader. Bucky was still recovering and Sam worried that this was going to set him back. He didn’t want to deal with a super soldier running rampant. Wanda and Vision were clinging to each other both literally and metaphorically, Sam felt uneasy about what would have happened if Shuri hadn’t been able to save Vision. Then there was the talking tree, Groot. Sam wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the creature but he (was the tree a he?) seemed to be fairly loyal despite only knowing three words. As far as trees went, this one was cool. 

“We’re five minutes out,” Wanda said, resting a hand on his shoulder and breaking him out of his thoughts. 

“Thanks Wanda,” he replied. He stood up and made his way to where Bucky was piloting the jet. He leaned over Bucky’s chair and watched, silently, as the soldier began to descend. 

“You see that?” Bucky asked, nodding his head to where two ships were landed on the lawn. “I don’t think either of them are Stark's.”

“Unless he managed to figure out space travel since the last time I was here, I don’t think they’re his,” Sam sighed, the last thing they needed was another fight right now. 

“Prepare for hostiles,” Bucky called over his shoulder to the others. “But hope for allies, I hope the kid is alright.”

“Really?” Sam asked with a grin. “Didn’t he beat your ass the last time?”

Bucky snorted and smirked at Sam. “I seem to remember _your_ ass being beat.”

“Nah man,” Sam shook his head. “Memory must still be hazy from cryo, I’m the one who took him down while you were lying on your ass.”

Bucky rolled his eyes at Sam but gave no other reply. Sam had been worried he had gone too far. He was reminded however, that Bucky wasn’t a delicate flower and he could give just as much as he got. Sam patted Bucky’s shoulder before settling down on one of the chairs as the jet descended.

Bucky landed the jet on the landing pad instead of on the lawn. This way they could enter the compound from the roof. As they exited the jet, Groot looked around and pointed at one of the ships on the lawn. “I am Groot,” he informed them and Sam wasn’t sure if he should be comforted that the tree creature recognised the ship or not. The thought that Groot's companion had been a talking raccoon certainly didn’t allay his fears.

They entered the elevator and took it down to the main floor. As the doors opened Sam drew his weapon. He gestured for the others to do the same and they stepped off the elevator. It hit him that he had no idea what the Spiderkid even looked like, he’d only seen him in his suit. Bucky raised his gun reluctantly, Wanda’s hands glowed red and Groot waved his wooden arms in a display of what Sam assumed was meant to be dominance but he could only call adorable. Vision stood at the back of the group, Sam figured the guy was going to be completely unhelpful in a fight considering the stone no longer powered him. 

As they turned a corner a group of people leaning over the monitors entered his line of sight. Out of all of them he recognised none but some of them certainly seemed alien. Groot took several steps forward and Sam assumed that some of these people were his friends.

One of them looked up from the monitor, eyes wide. The guy was wearing a red leather jacket and he looked, as far as Sam could tell, entirely human.

“Groot,” The man called. “You’re okay.” 

He rushed towards them and pulled the tree creature into a hug. He tried not to react when two others, a purple man who was only wearing a pair of trousers and a girl with antennas joined them, but he gave Bucky a glance that he hoped encompassed his thoughts. 

His thoughts ranged from, _‘What the hell?’_ to, ‘ _This isn’t the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen.’_

“Mr. Wilson,” Sam at least recognised the voice that called his name. “I’m Peter Parker.”

Peter Parker was definitely a kid. Sam would place him somewhere between fifteen and eighteen. He had a mop of hair that fell into his eyes and curled slightly. He was pretty short too. Sam recognised his voice but it was the way he held himself that gave away his secret identity. Despite the fact that he was still a kid, Peter Parker looked like he had seen far too much in his short life. The kid held himself defensively, yet he had a certain openness about him that could only come from his age, he wasn’t yet jaded.

Sam hadn’t come to the compound with the intent of adopting a kid, but he sure as hell was going to make sure Peter Parker was coping well once he got to speak to him alone. 

“Spiderman right?” Sam asked and the kid only nodded his head. The other two men were not paying them any mind and seemed to be having a whispered argument. In the back of his head Sam felt like he should recognise the taller of the two men but he couldn’t quite see the guys face.

“Umm,” Peter said, reaching back to rub the back of his neck. “Don’t freak out, but.. Thor’s brother Loki, he’s kinda here?”

“Kinda?” Bucky asked, he didn’t seem bothered but Sam assumed that was probably because he didn’t know who Loki was. It clicked in Sam’s head that the guy he sort of recognised was Loki. Immediately his brain went into overdrive. _‘What would Steve do?’_

Of course he wasn’t Steve but ‘what would Steve do?’ or WWSD for short had saved his ass before. 

“He’s definitely here,” Peter corrected, gesturing over his shoulder to the other two men. “He’s here with what’s left of his people, they’re asking for asylum.”

That changed things. They couldn’t exactly send anyone in trouble on their way. 

“Right okay,” Sam replied. _And what the fuck was he supposed to do._ “I guess he hasn’t tried to kill anyone yet.”

“And I won’t be,” Loki said snidely. Sam figured the guy had probably gone over this a few times already. He really didn’t want to pick a fight with a god right now. “I understand everyone’s trepidation but my people and _I_ have no intention of causing trouble, we are merely looking for somewhere safe.”

“Alright,” Sam agreed, he was definitely far too calm. He wondered if he was going to have a breakdown when reality hit him later. They would let Loki stay, they didn’t really have a choice. “What were you guys looking at on the monitor?”

“Fury sent out a distress signal and Peter was attempting to make contact,” the last man said. “Doctor Stephen Strange,” he added when everyone turned to him. He had a goatee that was not unlike Tony Stark's, and wore long robes and a cape. Sam wondered what kind of doctor this guy was.

“Fury’s still here?” Sam asked, relieved. If Fury was still alive the pecking order might be sorted sooner rather than later. 

“We’re not certain,” Strange replied. “However if things have gone like I think they have, he should be.”

Sam frowned. 

“What does that mean?” Wanda asked, eyes narrowed. 

“It means things were not meant to happen the way they did,” Vision said, eyes on Strange. Sam let out a sigh. Vision had always been a bit creepy, he didn’t like how the guy always knew everything. His relationship with Wanda was pretty strange too, but hey, Sam wasn’t going to judge them too hard on that. 

“Right,” Bucky said with an eye roll, sarcasm dripped from his voice. “I could have told you that, Thanos shouldn’t have survived Thor’s attack.”

Sam felt like smacking Bucky when he saw the look in Loki’s eyes. It was full of hope, hope that _Sam_ was going to have to crush because despite being superheros, he was surrounded by cowards.

“Thor is on Earth?” Loki asked, eyes wide, _hopeful_. “Where is he.”

Sam shot Bucky a meaningful glare and Bucky made a face that was halfway between cringing and apologetic. 

“He didn’t make it,” Sam replied carefully. “I’m sorry.”

Loki merely nodded his head, turning to look away from them and compose himself. Sam subtly took a deep breath. He was definitely way too calm, but as he looked around the room he realised they _all_ were. They were all shocked but he knew that when each of them had time to themselves it would all come crashing down.

“We’re getting off track,” Peter said. “Sam can you contact Fury?”

Sam sighed. Could he contact Fury? He knew a few of Natasha’s codes that he could try sending him. Of course, he wasn’t really looking forward to telling Fury that his entire team of Avengers had been wiped out. He knew it would be left up to him to tell the man though. 

_Cowards_.

* * *

Peter watched as Sam sent a code to Fury. Moments later the spy’s face was on the monitor. He was covered in soot, _no,_ ash- dust. Peter swallowed, he looked down at his hands. He could still picture Mr. Stark’s body as it disappeared right before him. 

“Wilson?” Fury asked. “What’s the team look like?”

“There’s not really much of a team, Nick,” Sam replied. “Steve, Thor, Nat, Banner, Rhodes and Stark are all gone, no word on Barton though.”

“Barton’s gone too,” I just got off the phone with his wife, Fury sighed and ran a hand down his face. “Scott Lang is gone as well, Hank Pym contacted me, he wanted to know what was going on.”

Hawkeye and Antman were gone? Peter felt hopeless, he felt that if given the chance to go toe to toe with Thanos again he might be able to crush the Titan’s skull out of pure rage. But that wasn’t him, he wasn’t a murderer, he could never-

“Shit,” Sam said. “There was nothing we could do Nick, Thanos snapped his fingers and they were gone and then, job done, he took off from Wakanda.”

Gone. Tony was gone, right before his eyes. He wondered if May was gone too. If he would arrive back at their apartment only to find a pile of ash. He shook his head at the image of his aunt disappearing, alone, helpless. 

“Any idea where he went?” Fury asked. 

Thanos. The logical, diplomatic part of Peter’s brain wanted to tell him, it’s not your fault he won. But the part of him, the part that didn’t save Uncle Ben, the part that didn’t save Tony, lashed out at him. If he had only been fast, he could have gotten the gauntlet off, then everyone would still be alive.

“The garden,” Mantis informed them. “I saw it when I entered his mind.”

Peter decided then and there that his favourite Guardian was Mantis. She was useful and efficient even if she was a bit weird. 

“The garden?” Loki asked. Before she could answer him there was a loud choking noise. Fury was staring at Loki, only now realising he was there. Peter sighed, they didn’t have time for Fury to get mad at them.

“It’s a long story,” Peter decided on. “I’m vouching for him.”

“And who’s vouching for you?” Fury asked, eye narrowed.

Peter didn’t think that was really fair, Tony Stark had vouched for him. The man was gone but he had made Peter an Avenger. 

_Because he thought you were going to die in space_.

“Now is not the time,” Bucky cut in, Fury glared at him. Bucky just glared right back. “Where’s this place? Loki, do you know what it is?”

“Not exactly,” the god replied. “It was where he said he would go when everything was over, he spoke of it often with his children.”

“Cute,” Sam said. “Thanos has a retirement plan.”

“I can try to look for an energy surge similar to the stones,” Peter said. “It should give us a general location in space, Quill and the others can probably tell us where it is and Loki has a ship we could use to get there.”

They all nodded their heads. “The kid is the only one talking sense and he’s 14,” Fury said, he gave Peter an appraising look, as if minutes ago he had not just questioned his existence.

“I’m 17,” Peter replied, frowning slightly. He didn’t appreciate the tone Fury used. He was nearly an adult not a _child_.

“Literally a child,” Fury said as if Peter’s words proved he was right. Peter glared at Fury but the man ignored him and turned to Sam. “Look, call me if you find anything Pym is trying to contact me again and he’s not the easiest to deal with at the best of times.”

Fury disconnected the call then and Peter took over the monitor swiftly, using it to scan the energy surge the stones had caused in Wakanda and search for something similar. He wasn’t even sure the tech could reach far enough into space to actually pick up anything but he was desperate to be doing something. He knew the Stark satellites reached pretty far into space, he’d find a way to do this.

He heard the others shuffling around behind him but he ignored them in favour of getting lost in his thoughts. If he had been a little stronger and faster he would have gotten the gauntlet off of Thanos and none of this would have happened. He couldn’t help but blame himself. The logical side of his brain reminded him that if Quill hadn’t punched Thanos they would have had more time but he couldn’t really blame the guy. 

He felt extremely out of place and Fury’s comment about him being a child did nothing to help. He had never been around the other Avengers without Tony and now he was doing his best to hold his ground and act like he knew what he was doing. In reality he was panicking. He definitely did _not_ know what he was doing. He was running on pure instinct and survival tactics.

He should have called May and his friends but his phone had been destroyed in the fight and the idea of calling any of them and finding out they hadn’t survived made his hands shake. He had to concentrate on breathing to stop himself from panicking or worse crying, in front of everyone. He didn’t want to make himself look even more like a child to the others. They were all a lot older than him and they were definitely handling things better than he was. 

He still hadn’t truly processed the fact that Tony was _gone_. He knew if he opened that can of worms he’d be dealing with a lot more than he was currently willing to face. He needed to call May, if she was still alive it wasn’t fair to her to think he was dead.

He moved away from the monitor when he was sure it would continually search for the power surge. 

“Friday?” he called tentatively. 

“Yes Peter?” The A.I. responded and Peter smiled slightly. Tony’s mind was brilliant. 

“Can you call May Parker please?” he asked. 

“Certainly.”

Peter took a deep breath. The phone only rang twice before it was picked up. 

“Tony?!” May’s panicked voice hit him hard and he let out a quiet sob. 

“No May,” Peter replied. “It’s me, I’m okay, I’m glad you’re okay.”

There was a pause, Peter presumed she was taking in his reply. “Peter,” she whispered. “I was worried, I called Ned and Michelle, neither of them could tell me if you were okay.” There was another pause in which Peter allowed himself to be relieved that Ned and MJ had survived Thanos’ snap. “What happened? Where are you?”

“I’m at the compound, it’s-,” Peter took in a deep breath and shook his head despite the fact that she couldn’t see him. “It’s a lot to explain, May, Tony, he- he didn’t make it.”

There was shuffling on the other end of the line. “I’m sorry Peter,” May finally said. 

“Yeah,” Peter felt defeated. He wanted to hug May and curl up into a ball and cry, simultaneously. 

“I don’t think I’ll be able to get up to the compound,” May said, she sounded worried and Peter knew he should help quell her worries but he didn’t know what to say. “The city is in chaos right now, the roads are blocked off.”

“It’s okay,” Peter said, although it really wasn’t. _Nothing_ was okay. “I’ll see you soon May and- I’ll.. call you again before then.”

“Peter-,” she was trying to protest. 

“I really have to go,” He didn’t.

“I love you,” May gave in. 

“Love you too,” Peter returned and ended the call. He didn’t think he could face the others now that he was so emotional. He glanced through the glass at them and sighed. 

The rest of their pseudo team sat down at the round table in the briefing room. He wanted to join them but he didn’t feel like he belonged. The decision was taken from him however when Sam waved at him through the glass and gestured towards the seat that was unoccupied beside him.

“Hey kid, come sit with us.”

Peter slipped into a seat between Strange and Sam. He looked around the table and thought about how in any other circumstances he might be amused by his company. 

“Do you need to call anyone?” Strange asked him quietly. “Your family perhaps?”

“I just spoke to my aunt,” Peter replied and then because the man nodded his head sadly, “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still haven't gotten to the bits I actually want to upload but here we are with the second chapter. It's mildly excruciating trying to write out every detail when I first wrote the entire thing in my notes app on my phone but I wrote it all shorthand oh well.


	3. 32 days, 19 hours, 6 minutes and 48 seconds later

**One Month Later** ****

Peter grits his teeth as his pushed up the hood of the vintage car in front of him. It been exactly 32 days, 19 hour, 6 minutes and 48 seconds since they had lost against Thanos and he had felt every second of them. 

Nick Fury and Maria Hill were running their base of operations from the compound. They were putting together relief teams for those affected by the snap. The world around them was at a standstill, trying to adjust to the loss of life. 

The Asgardians had set themselves up somewhere in the Norwegian countryside. Loki spent most of his time travelling between what he took to calling New Asgard, and the compound. When Loki was at the compound he spent most of his time with Peter, watching the monitor that was searching for the stones' energy signals. Peter liked the company most of the time, he understood Loki was just looking for some comfort and reassurance that they could find Thanos. 

The ‘team’ held a briefing at the end of each week. The meetings were usually short because no one had found anything. They usually discussed the relief efforts and how certain countries were dealing with the after effects of half the population disappearing. Peter hated dragging himself to these meetings, they would always ask him if his search was working and he honestly didn’t have an answer. Stark Industries satellites reached pretty far out into space but he had no idea where Thanos was or if the energy from the stones was powerful enough to reach earth. 

When he wasn’t at briefings, Peter spent most of his time in Tony’s personal lab, until May or Sam came to harass him into leaving. For the most part he would like to think he was coping rather well. Every time he felt that he might be recovering however, he was hit with something new. 

He was grateful when May finally managed to get to the compound. The situation in New York was messy and many of the streets and buildings had been damaged by crashes. Schools all across the country were closed which meant Peter had nothing to do but sit alone with his own thoughts and tinker around in the lab. 

It was when Tony’s lawyers had come to him at the compound when it became apparent that those who had died in the snap were not coming back, that something within him broke. They had read Tony’s will to him. Which had stated that should Tony die without issue, Peter Parker was the sole heir to Stark Industries, taking into account that Pepper Potts had somehow passed away also. Peter hadn’t been expecting it, naturally he had burst into tears that had made the lawyers from SI extremely apologetic and somewhat uncomfortable. 

The others had all tried to comfort him but he didn’t want to be comforted. His entire life was now turned upside-down within a matter of weeks. Tony had left him his _company_ , his life’s work without a second thought. Peter didn’t know how to _breathe_ when he thought about it. 

Now, he was the owner of a company he didn’t want, he would trade every last penny SI had, just to have a minute with Tony again. He couldn’t believe Tony had never told him. He needed to appoint a CEO, or atleast a caretaker CEO until he was twenty one. He didn’t even _know_ anyone who worked at SI. In the end he chose Pepper Potts’ top advisor with the hopes that she would do everything for him. He was only 17 and he had no idea how to run a company, he’d never even had a job other than his internship.

In Tony’s lab he felt safe, he felt like he was surrounded by the man as he tinkered with some of the projects Tony had been working on and spoke to Dum-E and U. He’d taken apart one of Tony’s old bikes more times than he could count in the last few weeks. Unbeknownst to the others he had taken inventory of all of their weapons and equipment and started working on upgrading them. 

“Peter, the meeting is starting in 10 minutes,” FRIDAY informed him as he took apart the engine of one of Tony’s old sports cars. 

“Thanks FRI.”

He wiped the grease from his arms and closed the hood of the car. This was the fourth meeting they had help since the snap. Peter didn’t particularly enjoy them. The others spent most of their time questioning him about his search for the stones, some of them were doubtful of him because of his age. Peter ignored their doubt for the most part, a month ago, not having their approval would have annoyed him, now though, he had nothing to prove. 

He made his way to the briefing room where everyone was more or less gathered around the table. He took his usual seat between Strange and Sam as he waited for Fury to start the meeting. 

* * *

  
  


Sam tried his best to tune in and listen to Fury’s speech but it was proving difficult. Each of the briefings over the last month had been much the same. Fury would talk about what the situation was around the world, someone would ask Peter how his search was going, they’d argue about not being able to do anything and Loki would threaten them all, not very convincingly, with prolonged servitude if they didn’t shut up. 

Oddly enough, Sam had found comfort in the people surrounding him. They weren’t his team, they weren’t Steve and Natasha, but they were starting to grow on him. Over the last month he’d spent most of his time flitting between Tony’s lab where Peter was hiding from everyone and Steve’s bedroom in the compound, where Bucky spent most of his time curled up. 

Sam knew that none of them were coping, they had all lost someone close to them, Bucky had lost Steve more times than he could truly comprehend and Sam knew it wasn’t fair. Peter had lost Tony, and while Sam wasn’t entirely sure what their relationship had been, because he knew for Peter it had strayed beyond the mentor-mentee relationship, he understood that Peter was hurting. Both Bucky and Peter hid their pain in front of the others, Sam was the only one who saw first hand just how awful their losses had been. In return for their honesty with him, he had no choice but to be honest in return. 

Sam never thought he would lose Natasha the way he had. He thought maybe, if Banner showed up again that Natasha might choose to be with him. But Sam had always pictured himself in her life as a friend and a teammate even if their relationship ended. He had never pictured a life without her, a _team_ without her. When they had been on the run it was _Natasha_ that held them together, she had forced them all to get along, to keep going and to continue working against the bad guys. There were times when Sam had thought about turning himself in, but he had finally found a family for himself with Natasha and Steve. 

“So I was thinking maybe we could send a group to Ne-” whatever Hill was going to say was cut off by FRIDAY. 

“Peter I believe the satellite has picked up on a signal,” the AI said and Sam thought the robot almost sounded excited. 

Peter scrambled to take out his Stark pad and read the results of his scan. Sam leaned over his shoulder but he couldn’t really understand what it was saying. Peter brought up a holographic image on the table in front of them.

“According to this an energy signature similar to the one in Wakanda was last seen on this planet earlier today,” he pointed to the planet in front of them. 

“Thanos is there,” Mantis said nodding her head. “That has to be the garden.”

“He used the stones again,” Bucky frowned. “We don’t know what he’s doing we should think this thro-”

“We’re going,” Quill said and he looked around the table at everyone else. “You guys can join us or stay here but I’m not letting him get away with this.”

“Bucky’s right man, he’s still got the stones,” Sam said shaking his head.

“So let’s get them,” Peter stood up and crossed his arms. “Let’s use them to bring everyone back.”

“He annihilated us in Wakanda kid,” Bucky shook his head. 

“Well,” Peter paused and looked around the room. “This time we’re gonna have a plan and this time he’s not going to see us coming.”

“This is our only chance of restoring balance to the universe,” Strange finally said. 

“Hey Groot, where did you put Thor’s axe, I think we’re going to need it,” Loki said and Sam shied away from his sadistic grin. 

“I am Groot,” Groot replied and Loki nodded his head seriously so Sam assumed Loki understood the tree. 

Sam looked around the room, several of the occupants hadn’t said a word like Wanda and Vision, Drax had been nodding his head with Quill the entire time and Fury it seemed, was allowing the team to be led by Peter. Sam knew the leadership role would have to be filled, he also knew that as much as the kid talked, he wasn’t going to be the one to fill it. He exchanged a look with Bucky making sure the man understood what he intended to do. 

“Let’s make a plan,” Sam said, standing up and moving to the board in front of them. 

“And then let’s go get this son of a bitch,” Bucky said. 

* * *

  
  


Bucky gripped the belt that had him strapped to the seat. He hated that they were going to confront Thanos again. Thanos had taken everything from them. Even so, he knew that when Sam had looked at him in the briefing room there was no way either of them was going to put Peter in a position where he felt like he had to lead the team, he was still a kid, a grieving kid at that and there were plenty of capable adults in the room who could take that role. Personally, Bucky had thought that Fury should have stepped in but the director had decided to stay on earth while the others went after Thanos. Bucky envied him. 

For the last month he had been sleeping in Steve’s old room at the compound. Despite the fact that Steve hadn’t slept in the bed in two years the room brought him comfort and made him feel closer to him. Fate had dealt them a seriously terrible set of cards over the years.

First they had been born in a time where being who they wanted to be and loving who they wanted to love was not only frowned upon but illegal. Bucky had spent his life covering up who he truly was. He went on dates with women and fueled his image of a ladies man who had taken in a sickly, weak companion. He and Steve had done everything in their power to hide their relationship from the world. 

When he was drafted in 1942 and sent off to war, his only thought was that he had to get home to Steve. When the war was over, he decided he wasn’t going to pretend anymore, he was going to fight for their rights. After he was captured at the battle of Azzano he never expected to live long enough to see the end of the war.

When Steve, strong and healthy and _taller_ than him, had freed him and they were finally reunited he felt like things were starting to take a turn for the better. He never told Steve about what Zola had done to him. When he noticed his body had changed, he was suddenly stronger and faster with better sight and hearing, he hid it. He thought if he ignored it, that it would go away. 

In 1945, when he agreed to go on the raid with Steve and Gabe, he had done so in the hopes of finally getting answers from Zola. Sometimes he wakes in the middle of the night screaming as he relives the fall from the train. Steve’s face as he fell, getting further and further away was ingrained in his memory. As he fell, he had accepted death, he realised that fate had no good intentions towards him and Steve. 

He had laid on the ground at the bottom of the icy ravine for days. When he was conscious he was begging for his body to give in and _just die already_ . When he passed out, not quite sleeping and not quite awake, in pain but numb to the feeling after so long, he saw Steve coming to rescue him, telling him the war was over, _they could go home_. When he was taken from the ravine and woke up in agony, his left arm completely severed from his body from the shoulder, he wished for death once more. It didn’t come. 

During his time as the Winter Soldier and the atrocities he committed, he wished for death but it eluded him. When he was out of cryo, he dreamt of a face and a name he couldn’t quite recall when he woke up. Seeing Steve, slowly healed his fractured mind and put the pieces and memories back together. The 40’s hadn’t been their time, but the 21st century, where they could be who they wanted to be, unapologetically, was _supposed_ to be their time. Being torn apart and brought back together after 70 years meant they were meant to be, Bucky was sick of allowing fate to rule him, he went back into cryo one last time and when he came out he and Steve were supposed to start their lives together. They were supposed to finally be in charge of their own fate.

But fate, as always, had other plans, cruel plans. Thanos had taken that from them, he had ripped Steve away from Bucky once again. He had shattered the last of Bucky’s hope and optimism.

So, Bucky was weary of facing the mad Titan again, however he knew that the team he was with were going to fight with every last bone in their bodies. They were all desperate, they had lost everything. He knew as he looked at the hardened faces of his team mates, Thanos should be worried.

Quill turned in his seat to look at them and grinned, “So who here hasn’t been to space?”

He, Sam, Wanda and Vision put their hands up and Quill laughed. “Don’t throw up on my ship.”

Bucky nodded his head slightly and Quill turned back to the controls. “Approaching jump in 3.. 2.. 1..”

The ship lurched forwards through the wormhole and Bucky gripped the handles of his seat tightly. He looked to his right to see Sam had closed his eyes and snorted slightly, the man was supposed to be used to flying. As the ship came through the jump Bucky’s eyes widened. Okay, so space was kind of cool and if the experience had been different he would probably be freaking out like he had at the Stark expo all those years ago. 

The planet from the hologram came into view as the ship slowed down. “I’ll scan for signs of life,” Vision said. Bucky stared at him as he exited the ship and moved towards the planet. 

“Can I ask how he still works?” Peter asked leaning forward in his seat to speak to Wanda. “I’ve been wondering since I heard about what happened but I felt like it was kinda rude to ask. If I die though I want to know.”

Wanda snorted at his forwardness. “My powers came from the mind stone, Shuri managed to redirect my energy into and basically jump start his programming.”

“Like a car?” Peter asked and Bucky could tell he had more questions. 

“I guess,” Wanda shrugged. “He can do most of the stuff he used to be able to do, he can’t shoot lasers anymore though.” 

“That’s probably for the best,” Sam said. Bucky knew he was thinking about Rhodey. 

“Until you need someone that can shoot lasers on the team,” Peter replied. Bucky rolled his eyes. 

Vision glided back towards the ship, “No satellites, no ships, no armies, no ground defenses of any kind. It's just him.”

“And that’s enough,” Loki said solemnly. 

Sam stood up and Bucky moved to his side. “Remember, stick to the plan, no getting side tracked and whatever happens _do not_ let him get to you.”

There all nodded their heads in unison and Bucky reached over to grip Sam’s shoulder. “This is gonna work, Sam.”

“It better,” Sam whispered. “Otherwise I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

Bucky looked around the ship at the people who had been wrecked just a day before, walking around in a slump but were now their heads high. If Thanos didn’t kill them, false hope would.

* * *

  
  
  


Loki glared at nothing in particular. How dare Thanos live in such harmony with nature after wiping out half the universe. After killing his brother and his only friends. Loki was already lacking in the friendship department and losing Thor, Valkyrie and even Banner was hitting him harder than he had expected it to. He grit his teeth as he took in the shed in front of them. Thanos has discarded his armour outside, strung up on display. He didn’t need it if he had the stones, they were enough. He gripped Stormbreaker tighter and exchanged a look with the sorcerer. 

He and Strange had been paired up to attack from the east, Wanda and Vision were coming from the West, Quill and his team were coming directly at Thanos, Sam and Bucky were attacking from behind while Peter literally got the drop on him from above. 

He looked up at the roof and saw Peter situated in place. He nodded his head at the kid and waited for the signal through the coms. 

“Now,” Sam said and all at once they attacked. When Loki and Strange burst through using their magic, Peter had the titan in a choke hold, Drax gripped the Thanos’s arm with the Infinity Gauntlet and Loki swung Stormbreaker back and sliced straight through the arm just as Bucky and Sam pointed their weapons straight in the titan’s face. 

Wanda and Vision stood to the side but Loki could see the outline of Wanda’s magic holding Thanos in place and Peter removed himself from the titan’s shoulders. Quill walked forward, leaving Groot with his arms crossed and Mantis giving Thanos a death stare that Loki didn’t know she was capable of. 

Peter moved towards the gauntlet and flipped it over. Everyone froze. There were no stones. 

“No,” Peter said as he whipped his head in Thanos’s direction. 

“Where are they,” Quill said, his gun tucked under Thanos’s chin as he forced him to look at him in the eyes. 

Thanos laughed and Loki felt a pit drop in his stomach, ‘The universe required correction. After that, the stones served no purpose, beyond temptation.’

“You murdered trillions,” Strange said with a cool voice. “Where are the stones?”

“You should be grateful,” Thanos smiled nastily. The smile was easily wiped off his face as Peter’s fist collided with it. For such a small human Peter did more damage to Thanos than Loki had seen anyone ever do. Peter pulled him back into a headlock.

“Where are the stones?” Strange repeated with narrowed eyes. 

“Gone, reduced to atom,” Thanos replied. 

Loki felt his blood boiling the more the titan spoke, the last time he had truly felt this angry was when his mother died. He had wanted to rip the dark elves to pieces but he had been locked up. Instead he tore apart his cell and cried for days. It took everything in him not to swing Thor’s axe there and then. When he looked back on it he was surprised he lasted as long as he did 

“You used them yesterday!” Sam spat. 

**“** I used the stones to destroy the stones. It nearly killed me. But the work is done. It always will be,” He sat up a little straighter in Peter’s grip. “I am... inevitable.”

Quill scoffed, “We have to tear this place apart, he-he-he has to be lying.”

Mantis stepped forward and pressed her hands to either side of Thanos’ face. Peter pulled away from the interaction and watched quietly. Her eyes closed for a brief moment before they opened again, brimming with tears. She pulled her hands away as if she had been burnt. 

Loki knew before she even said it, that Thanos had not been lying. He gripped Stormbreaker tight in his hands and lifted her. The others were so lost in their own pain that they didn’t see it coming. 

“He is not lying,” She whispered and just like that Loki swung the axe and unlike Thor in Wakanda he aimed straight for the titan’s head, slicing it clean off. 

The head rolled to the side and Peter leaped away from Thanos' limp body as it fell to the floor. He watched as Peter wiped blood that had spattered onto him off of his face. 

“What... What did you do?” Quill whispered.

Loki’s eyes were cool as he moved them away from Thanos’s body. “What needed to be done, the stones are gone, he was nothing.” 

The silence loomed for what felt like eons, until finally, Peter broke it. 

“I would have done the same, I just didn’t have a giant axe,” he said, eyes meeting Loki’s, understanding passed between them and Loki nodded. The rest of the team looked between them for a brief moment before they seemed to accept the statement. 

Loki took one last look at the mad titan’s decapitated body before turning on his heel and leaving the shack. It was only when he was outside in the sunlight that he realised he had tears streaming down his face.

  
  



	4. To move on, you have to let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not me updating twice in the same month. Shocking.

**2023**

Peter sat in his desk chair in his office in the compound, he had a stack of papers in front of him that his assistant Sarah had dropped off earlier that morning. He was slowly making his way through them and reading over them when there was a light knock on his door and Sam stuck his head around the door. Peter looked up and smiled at him, putting down his pen and beckoning him in. 

“Hey man,” Sam said as he placed a coffee mug in front of Peter along with a takeaway container. “It’s lunch, by the way, I know you when you’re working you forget what that is.”

“Hilarious,” Peter replies as he opens the container to find a chicken sandwich and a salad. “Thank you though.”

“No problem,” Sam drummed his fingers on the table and Peter looked up at him. 

“Everything okay?” Peter asked as he dug into his food. 

“Oh yeah, you know just the same old,” Sam shrugged. “The presidents on my ass again about putting together a team.”

Peter nodded his head. “Did you tell him you already have one?”

“He knows, he just wants a team _he_ can control, problem is the government issue equipment is shit compared to the Stark Industries stuff I’m used to so he can’t buy me off,” Sam grinned at him and Peter rolled his eyes. 

“I’m glad I can be of service,” he replied. “I actually have a team meeting scheduled for later if you want to join.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Sam said, he leaned away from the desk and Peter could see his leg tapping on the floor. “Listen... Has Bucky tried to get you to join his support group?”

Peter looked up from surprise at that, “He asked if I was interested, I told him I was busy with everything,” Peter paused at the look of stress in Sam’s eyes, “Why?”

“I told him I’d go to the next meeting,” Sam admitted. “He was talking about how great it is for his mental health and I didn’t want to disappoint him, now I’m looking for an excuse not to go.”

Peter let out a slight laugh at that, Bucky meant well, but Sam was coping in his own way and a support group full of people who all had stories wasn’t going to help him. Peter understood that which was why he had turned Bucky down. Hearing other people’s stories just made him feel worse about not being able to stop Thanos. 

“Tell him the president needs you,” Peter said with a grin. 

“Bucky knows I’d drop the president for any of you guys in a heartbeat,” Sam sighed. “I guess I’m just resigned to my fate.”

“Or you could tell him the truth,” Peter suggested and snorted when Sam’s eyes widened. 

“No way, I’m going down with this ship now Parker, no backing out, unless you have a better suggestion,” Sam said, crossing his arms.

“Tell him you have a date,” Peter said. “When I was with MJ he was so excited one of us was actually moving on, I bet he’d let you out of it then.”

“I’d have to follow through,” Sam said thoughtfully. “Know any eligible bachelorettes? What about May?”

“Hmm.. let me see, no,” Peter said dully as he took a bite out of his sandwich. 

“C’mon man,” Sam threw his head back in mock dismay. 

Peter laughed and threw his napkin at Sam. “She wouldn’t be into you anyway, good luck with Bucky.”

“I’ll remember that,” Sam promised.

* * *

  
  


Bucky looked around the room and made sure everyone was seated comfortably and had a drink in their hand. He smiled as he took his place in the circle. 

“We have a few new members here tonight, I just want to remind everyone that you don’t have to share with the group but I think it’s important that we all listen and take in what everyone says,” He nodded at Sam who was sitting across from him.

He hadn’t honestly expected Sam to show up that first week he had invited him but he had shown up that week and every week after that, he had never shared with the group but Bucky knew that wasn’t a hill he wanted to die on. 

One of Bucky’s original members, Lisa, is the last to finish sharing talking about a date she went on earlier in the week. Bucky nodded his head and listened to her story while he quietly observed the rest of the group. He listened to their stories, that was important to him but what was more important was making sure nobody else was lost because of their failure five years ago. He had started the support group after the first anniversary of the snap when all over the world people had taken their lives. They said the first anniversary after losing a loved one is the hardest and that day had proven to him that he needed to do more. 

“Anyway, I don’t think I want to see her again, she reminded me too much of..” Lisa trailed off and shrugged her shoulders. 

“That’s okay,” Bucky said. “I think we can all understand and relate to that feeling, we all lost someone and just because time has passed doesn’t mean you have to be ready for a new relationship. I think it’s important to remember that you tried and that’s what really matters, you can try again until you meet someone who doesn’t remind you of her or maybe in the future it won’t hurt as much if they do.”

Lisa nodded her head at him and wiped the tears from her eyes, “Thanks Bucky.” 

Bucky smiled, “Look, you all know I lost the love of my life in the snap, and I can’t imagine my life with someone else, I can’t imagine being with someone other than Steve, not after everything he and I went through to find each other. I have had my fair share of disastrous dates over the last year, I can’t even begin to explain them all, but the point is we’re all _trying_ to move on, we’re not trying to replace or forget what we’ve lost. Nothing can replace Steve for me and Lisa, nothing will replace Kate for you but that’s not the point, the point is we keep living our lives to the best of our abilities and if some days are better than others that’s fine.” 

When the meeting is over, Sam stays behind to help him clean up and stack the chairs. 

“Are you heading back to the compound?” Sam asks as they finish putting away the last two chairs. 

Bucky shakes his head, “I was planning on going back to my apartment, I need to feed Alpine.”

“Can you call your neighbour to do it?” Sam asks and Bucky raises an eyebrow. 

“I guess I can, are you okay Sam?” Bucky looks him over and he doesn’t look especially distressed, just somewhat worried. 

“It’s Peter’s birthday today,” Sam said and Bucky let out a groan. 

“I can’t believe I forgot,” he said rubbing his brow. “Is he the only one at the compound?”

“Yeah, things have been pretty crap for him lately,” Sam sighed. “He and MJ broke up again and he turned down MIT’s PHD offer.”

“He didn’t say anything when I was at the compound last week,” Bucky leaned back against the refreshments table. “Is he keeping everything to himself?”

“Pretty much,” Sam smiled half-heartedly. “But when isn’t he.”

“I’ll call Anna and ask her to check on Alpine,” Bucky said. “We’re gonna have to stop somewhere along the way and get him a cake.”

“Already one step ahead of you,” Sam said with a grin. 

* * *

  
  


Peter was sat in the briefing room of the compound flipping through reports from the other members of the team while he ate leftover Chinese food. He had just finished up a meeting with Loki, Wanda, T’challa, Fury and Quill and he felt like crap. No one had remembered his birthday, but that wasn’t the part that made him feel as worn out as he did. He wanted _something_ to happen, which in and of itself was a particularly controversial thought.

The others had all settled into their new roles, their new _lives_ , but Peter was waiting for the other shoe to drop. He was waiting for the next thing that was going to devastated them to come along, except, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe there was nothing out there waiting for them, maybe it had all begun and ended with Thanos. That thought had comforted the others when Loki had told them Thanos was behind his attack on New York, that he had manipulated him into it, they had all come to the conclusion that Thanos had engineered everything. 

Except Peter knew Thanos hadn’t been the one behind Tony becoming Ironman, he wasn’t the one that had created Hydra and held Bucky prisoner for years, he wasn’t the one that had turned Sokovia into a wasteland and he wasn’t the one that tore the team apart in 2016. That had all been people on Earth, people who walked around every day, people who blended in. So, Peter was waiting patiently for their next mission, for the next villain to go toe to toe with. 

His head swivelled to the side, spidey-sense activated, when the door to the briefing room slid open. Bucky and Sam entered carrying a box and a paper bag. Both of them grinned at him and he rose an eyebrow.

“You here to do your laundry?” He asked with a smirk. 

“I’ll have you know my apartment has a washing machine,” Bucky huffed. 

Peter laughed and nodded his head to the box in his hands, “What’s in the box.”

“Explosives,” Sam deadpanned. Bucky dropped the box onto the table. “Take a look for yourself.”

Peter frowned and opened the seal of the box, he pulled back the lid to see a cake inside. In lopsided writing ‘Happy Birthday Peter’ was written on it and he smiled. Sam had obviously used his newly acquired baking skills. 

He looked up, a thank you on the tip of his tongue, to see Sam and Bucky wearing red and blue party hats. That answered what was in the paper bag they had brought. They blew hard into the party horns in their hands and Peter snorted. Sam came over and slipped a hat on his head. 

“Happy Birthday kid,” Bucky said with a grin. 

“Thank you, but I’m hardly a kid anymore,” Peter said with a groan. “I’m 22!”

“You’ll always be a kid to us,” Sam said, patting him on the shoulder. “Now why don’t we light your candles so you can blow them out.”

Peter rolled his eyes but he was secretly pleased when Sam pulled out a packet of candles from the paper bag. 

Just as Sam was sticking the last candle into the cake the security alarm went off. Peter leaned over the bring up a holographic image of the front gate. 

“Who’s that?” Bucky asked. 

There was a woman at the front gate pushing the buzzer rather aggressively. When she turned her face towards the camera Peter recognised her immediately. 

“It’s Hope Van-Dyne,” Peter said standing up. 

“Hank Pym’s daughter?” Sam asked confused but Peter waved him off as he made his way out of the room and towards the front gate. 

* * *

Sam exchanged a look with Bucky when they were all situated back in the briefing room. Hope had brought both of her parents with her and was looking at Peter anxiously. 

“Do you want some cake?” Bucky offered as he took in the nervous glances of the people in front of them. 

“No,” Hope said quickly, then she paused. “Thank you, we’ve eaten.”

Bucky nodded his head, this obviously wasn’t a social call. 

“What’s going on?” Peter asked, leaning back against the table. “Is this about the patent distribution between SI and Pym Tech, because I sent you the documents to you last week?”

“No,” Pym said. “It has nothing to do with that, this is... Remember that article I sent to you on quantum physics last year?”

Peter nodded his head, “It was an interesting theory, but there was no proof behind it so I didn’t look any further into it.”

Pym scoffed lightly and Peter raised an eyebrow, “I wrote it.”

“My statement still stands,” Peter replied, he crossed his arms and frowned. 

“Perhaps I can explain,” Janet spoke up for the first time. “In 1989, Hank and I were called upon to disarm a Soviet ICBM en-route to the United States, when we arrived we discovered that the missile had already been launched which meant we had to disarm it mid-flight, the only way to disarm it was to go inside but the plating was too thick to cut through, there was no other option but to shrink between the molecules. Hank’s regulator was damaged but mine wasn’t so it had to be me.”

As she said this she was looking directly at Peter who nodded his head. Sam had never actually seen someone defer to Peter over the rest of them but Janet Van Dyne and her family had practically dismissed him and Bucky when they walked into the room. 

Peter’s brow furrowed, “How..?”

“I was trapped inside the quantum realm until 2018,” she explained. 

“I’m sorry,” Peter offered but she shook her head. 

“I managed to make contact with Scott Lang in 2018 and eventually Hank was able to find me.”

“I don’t understand what this has to do with the article you send me,” Peter said, turning towards Pym. 

“The rules of the Quantum Realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable. The Quantum Realm is a largely unexplored dimension, about which scientists currently know very little. The concepts of time and space become irrelevant when entering the realm,” Pym said very quickly. 

Sam to his credit, had followed the conversation up until that point, after that he just sat back in confusion. He could tell Bucky was no better, the soldier had crossed his arms and tensed his shoulder, he usually only did this when he was faced with someone he didn’t know how to read. 

“It’s just a theory,” Peter said with a sigh. “Look I’m sorry if you came here expecting more from me.”

“Just listen,” Hope insisted. “The nature of the Quantum Realm is such that you can enter at one point in time and exit at another.”

Peter paused and tilted his head thoughtfully, “What are you saying?”

“What I'm saying is, time works differently in the Quantum Realm. The only problem is right now, we don't have a way to navigate it,” Hope said. “But what if we did? I can't stop thinking about it. What if we could somehow control the chaos, and we could navigate it? What if there was a way to enter the Quantum Realm at a certain point in time but then exit at another point in time? Like... Like before Thanos.”

“Wait a minute,” Bucky said, eyes wide. “ Are you talking about a time machine?”

“It’s a bit more complex than that,” Pym said with a frown. 

At the same time, Janet cut in, “Yes exactly.”

“Why now?” Peter asked. “I’m hardly a quantum physicist and it’s been five years.”

“We researched everything we could, tried everything but we needed a fresh pair of eyes,” Hope said, her eyes were wide and pleading. “I understand this isn’t your area of expertise and it sounds crazy but..”

“I have frequent conversations with a talking tree,” Peter said with a sigh. “We’re way passed crazy.”

“So you’ll help?” Pym asked hopefully. 

Peter leaned back thoughtfully, he tilted his head to the side as if weighing up the options. “I don’t think _I_ can help, but I know a guy who’s pretty well versed in the quantum realm.”

“You do?” Sam asked in surprise. 

“Yeah, we both do,” Peter said. “FRI, can you send Stephen Strange’s last known address to my GPS?”

“Of course Peter,” the AI responded. 

“Sam I want you to come with me and Dr Pym, Bucky can you get in touch with Shuri? I think we’re going to need her help with this,” he moved around the room gathering things as he went. 

“Wait, Pete,” Sam said, exchanging a look with Bucky who hadn’t moved an inch. “Slow down, you’re moving too fast.”

“No,” Peter said. “We’re not moving fast enough, we have five years of work to catch up on.”

* * *

Stephen rolled his shoulders as he stepped into the kitchen where Christine was setting up for lunch. She was cutting vegetables and as he passed by he pressed a kiss to her cheek. 

“I’ll go get out resident overlord,” he said as he bypassed her and moved into the living room where Sofia was playing with her toys. He smiled as he took in his daughters bright and happy face as she made voices for each of her dolls. 

Before he could open his mouth to tell her that lunch is ready the doorbell rings and he’s brought out of his musings. 

“Daddy someone’s at the door,” she informed him from her place on the living room carpet. 

“I’ll get it, why don’t you join Mommy in the kitchen,” he suggested as he moved towards the front door. 

Very few people knew his home address so as he approached the door he frowned, thinking about who could be on the other side. When the door swung open he sighed.

Peter Parker stood on the other side of the door, flanked on either side by Sam Wilson and Hank Pym. In all of the various futures, he had seen 5 years previously, this was not one of them.

Stephen had thought that it would be the other way around, he hadn’t seen a future where he survived the snap and with the time stone destroyed he would never understand why the future had turned out as it had. With the time stone gone he had no reason to continue defending the sanctum or the universe’s reality. He had been somewhat listless in the aftermath of the snap and had channelled all of his magic into the use of his hands, he was back performing surgery, a medical miracle to his peers.

“Hey,” Peter waved awkwardly. “Can we talk?”

Stephen waved them in, “Come in, I’m sure this is going to be a long conversation.”

He listened intently as Peter and Pym spoke, going back and forth over their theory. Sam stood to the side and let them talk, Stephen was pretty sure he was only there for back up anyway.

“Look I know what it sounds like,” Peter said, casting his eyes about. 

“I don’t think it’s impossible,” Stephen said carefully. “But.. the only person I know who could pull something like that off is..”

“Tony,” Peter said. “Yeah me too, Tony probably could have figured this out overnight on his own after 72 hours of no sleep, but I think if we all get together if we all put our heads to it, we can do this.”

Pym looked slightly offended at the thought that all of their heads together was only just the measure of Tony Stark's brain capacity. Stephen sighed again. 

“I can’t help you, I have.. too much to lose,” he thought about the words he knew Tony Stark had used in the future he had envisioned. “I believe the most likely outcome would be our collective demise.”

"Stephen,” Sam finally said. “I get it. And we’re happy for you, we really are. But this is a second chance.”

“I already have my second chance, right here,” he gestured towards the kitchen. “I can’t risk losing that.” 

“You’re scared,” Peter said and he nodded his head. “I am too, my friends, May? They all survived the snap but it doesn’t matter because we owe it to the trillions of people all over the universe that we couldn’t save.”

“Kid..” Sam said reaching over to pull him back. 

“No Sam,” he pushed Sam’s hand from his shoulder. “This isn’t about being selfish, we have to keep trying, otherwise we’re just as bad as Thanos.”

“I didn’t murder all of those people, Peter,” Stephen said eyes narrowed. “I didn’t kill Tony.”

“No, you didn’t,” Peter agreed. “You saved his life once, on Titan, I’m asking you to do it again.”

“You’re asking a lot of me, I haven’t practised magic in years.”

“As your friend,” Peter said. “I’m asking you to help us because I don’t know anyone else who can.”

“You’re asking me to be selfless so that you may be selfish,” Stephen pointed out. 

He saw Sam bristle slightly, and at the same time, Pym raised his eyebrows in surprise. Stephen knew he was pushing at Peter but he couldn’t give in, not until he was sure. 

“If, after everything we have gone through, you think that this is me being selfish,” Peter whispered. 

“You want Tony back.”

“And Natasha, Steve, Rhodey and Thor,” Peter spat. “I want everyone back, this isn’t just about Tony, this is about the difference between what is right and what is wrong.”

Stephen wondered if Peter knew he was crying, if he was honest with himself he wasn’t entirely sure when the tears had started but they were slipping down Peter’s face and the man in front of him made no effort to prevent it. He knew that he was testing Peter, trying to convince him that it was futile. But a voice in his head, that sounded rather like Tony Stark was telling him he wouldn’t be able to think straight ever again if he didn’t go with them now. He would be miserable and guilty forever. 

“Let me get my things,” he said quietly, taking his eyes off of Peter’s face. “And say goodbye to my family.”

He hoped that it would not be the last time.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know when this is going to be updated again, hopefully soon but I should probably concentrate some of my time on my other works too. I also have a lot of college assignments to do right now especially since I wrote this instead of doing my sociology essay. Anyway, I guess I'll see you guys next time, leave a comment and I'll try to interact!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to try to update as often s possible but I have a terrible update schedule so we'll see how things go. Anyway if you made it this far leave me a comment because at this point any human interaction is good right?


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